There are four IS Awards:

RBC Immigrant Advantage Award
This award will recognize an organization that demonstrates the business impact of leveraging the skills of immigrants, yielding tangible results for both business and immigrants.

CBC Toronto Vision Award for Immigrant Inclusion
This award will recognize a unique initiative that breaks down employment barriers for skilled immigrants and has the potential to affect change beyond one organization. This innovative practice has the potential for wider impact because of partnerships.

Toronto Star Award for Excellence in Workplace Integration
This award will recognize ONE practice or a suite of practices related to ONE of the following: sourcing, recruiting, onboarding, integration, inclusion or promotion of skilled immigrants. The practice or suite of practices must be innovative, and fully implemented and established with positive results that are transforming the organization.

Canadian HR Reporter Individual Achievement Award
This award will recognize an individual who has demonstrated leadership and innovation in HR practice in integrating skilled immigrants in the workplace.

Winners will be recognized in the media and by their peers as leaders in an area of increasing importance to the Canadian economy. Each will receive a hand crafted IS Awards sculpture. RBC will host a reception to honour the winners in spring 2012.

Since the awards launched five years ago, over 25 employers and individuals have been recognized. Previous winners include CH2M HILL Canada Limited, Deloitte, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, George Brown College, I3 International, Nytric Limited, Pitney Bowes, Samtack, St. Micheal’s Hospital, Steam Whistle Brewing, Thales Canada, Transportation, Toronto Foundation for Student Success and Xerox Research Centre of Canada, as well as individuals from American Express Technologies, CIBC, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Procter & Gamble and TD Bank Financial Group. Read the winner stories here and check out photos from past receptions on Flickr.

Online applications can be completed in minutes. For full details, online entry forms and profiles of previous winners, visit www.isawards.ca.

A panel of senior human resource professionals, business executives and industry stakeholders will judge the IS Award submissions.

The IS Awards are a program of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), sponsored by RBC with media partners Canadian HR Reporter, CBC Toronto and The Toronto Star.